2021 Belgian GP, Ferrari first practice report: Charles P4, Carlos P5. Ferrari first practice report.

Not exactly the most representative first session back in action for Formula 1 – but this is Spa-Francorchamps and these kind of changeable conditions are nonetheless par for the course of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

Valtteri Bottas was quickest in a damp opening hour of practice for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps: the Mercedes driver finished fastest from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.2s

The first car on track in the intermittent conditions was Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, running the intermediate tyres, as Carlos took his SF21 car for a look at the conditions in the early stages of the session.

As the sessions progressed, track conditions improved and the drivers were able to set their times on slick tyres. Ferrari finished the session in P4 and P5, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who successfully completed the programme for the first practice session by testing different aerodynamic configurations and tyre management, despite the far from ideal track conditions. Charles finished in fourth place with a personal best lap time of 1:45:818, followed closely by his teammate (1:45:935), as the rain hit the track in the final moments of FP1 at Spa-Francorchamps.

Results from the first practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix, Round 12 of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship.